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Bailey Collier
[Link]
ENGL 103-003
19 October 2024
Why Does the Internet Do More Harm Than Good?
Although social media can be effective and capable of connecting and educating, it has
negative effects on mental health, misinformation, and decreased face to face interactions shows
that it causes more harm than good. Social media has reshaped the way we communicate, rely on
information, and communicate with those around us. Social media was initially used as a way to
connect, it has slowly become a source of harm and impacting mental health, community unity,
and relationships with those around us.
Although social media is supposed to be more helpful and beneficial, it has caused a
negative impact on socialization and communication skills, people are starting to replace face to
face conversations. There are two different ways we are able to communicate with one another,
verbal and nonverbal. Nonverbal communication is used through body language for example
face expressions or gestures you do. Verbal communication is used in speeches, discussions and
everyday conversations. Studies show that in 2012 most teens said their favorite way to
communicate was face to face interactions , if we fast forward six years face to face interactions
have rapidly decreased. Now “Most teens now say their favorite mode of communication is
texting (35%),social media (16%) and video chatting (10%)”(Steinmetze 2018, September 10).
Social media often promotes meaningless contact meaning people are able to contact one another
quickly but the conversations may be interpreted differently or lack depth in the conversation.
Due to the fact that more people would rather just send a quick email, text, dm, or snap because
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its “faster” starts to limit their ability to develop those communication skills we are able to gain
by socializing and having face to face conversations and not understanding nonverbal cues. Also
people tend to feel more comfortable saying the truth and being harsh and rude on social media
because they can avoid that in face conversation and the conflict that could arise from what is
being said. You more than likely do not see a problem now with those short quick texts and
abbreviations like emojis but it will in the future when you get a job and you do not know how
to express yourself clearly in person, this will lead to confusion between the interactions and
conversion you will encounter. Not having those in person conversions weakens social skills,
listening actively and responding appropriately.
Over the past couple of years social media has become a part of our daily lives, allowing
us to connect with others and share our experiences with one another. However social media can
also lead to serious mental health issues for a lot of people who use it. A major problem with
social media is people often tend to compare their lives to those around us that we see. People
post stories and highlights and pictures making their life seem so called “perfect”. Due to this
often it makes people have low self esteem. Another major factor with mental health is how bad
cyberbullying has become. Cyberbullying can happen anywhere and anytime unlike face to face
bullying, those negative comments that they might hear or a threat they may see often leads to
emotional pain. People who may experience cyberbullying may experience depression,
loneliness, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts. Social media allows it to be easier for bullies to
act without having that face to face contact and facing the consequences. Often that loneliness
comes from seeing their friends all hangout and they look like they are having fun but they feel
excluded because they were not invited.